Germination improves brown rice – study
Brown rice (BR) is healthier than white rice. A simple germination process can even more enhance the health-promoting properties of BR. The study, Development and Evaluation of Functional Beverage with Germinated Brown Rice as Base Ingredient by Rodel Bulatao, Jody Chaves, and Dr. Marissa Romero from the Rice Chemistry and Food Science Division proved that germination can make the healthy BR more nutritious. The study was the Grand Slam Winner of the Gold AFMA Best R&D Paper and Best R&D Poster Awards during the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) 26th National Research Symposium. During the conference, Romero presented the nutrient composition and properties of germinated brown rice (GBR) from white and pigmented rice varieties. They also studied the utilization of GBR in the development of a healthy and tasty cow’s milk-based beverages. From this, they developed a commercially-ready functional (health-enriched) beverage with buffalo`s milk, and determined its nutritional content, shelf-life, and storage stability. “We know that brown rice is nutritionally superior than white or milled rice. Yet, drawbacks on its cooking time and texture discourage the public to consume it. And so we thought of germinating it to help address these concerns,” Bulatao said. Previous studies confirmed that germination improves the cooking, eating, and nutritional qualities of brown rice. “We found out that GBR from pigmented rice has better phytochemical, antioxidant, and functional properties than GBR from white rice...
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